MOTORS TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

Motor
New designs
aim to boost
efficiency

MAKEOVER
levels.

Authored by:
Frances Richards
Contributing Editor
Key points:
• It is possible to find superefficient high-horsepower
motors but, at this point, many of these are exotic
designs that are practical for limited applications.
• Special motor designs may begin replacing
induction motors as worldwide efficiency
regulations grow ever-more stringent.
Resources
Baldor Electric Co., www.baldor.com
Comparing efficient motors, machinedesign.com/
article/how-s-your-motor-iq-0405?page=0%2C1
Copper rotor induction motors, machinedesign.
com/article/industry-could-take-a-shine-to-copper-
rotor-motors-0906
IPM versus three-phase induction motors,
This 800-hp medium-voltage machinedesign.com/article/motors-move-toward-
induction motor is employed in more-efficiency-0410
a copper ore plant. Switched reluctance motors, machinedesign.com/
article/the-switch-to-switched-reluctance-1211
For more on green technology,
Continuing headlines about superefficient electric drives might lead scan this code or go to: http://
machinedesign.com/article/
some observers to wonder about the future of three-phase induction green-technology-more-efficient-
motors. The truth is that induction motors aren’t going away any time motors-0619
soon. In fact, they just keep getting better as improved materials continue
to make possible more-efficient designs.
Government legislation supports these efforts: In the U. S., EISA (the
Energy Independence and Security Act) went into effect in 2010, man-
dating higher efficiency standards for general-purpose, three-phase ac like induction motors, which induce a
industrial motors from 1 to 500 hp manufactured for domestic use. Eu- secondary magnetic field in the rotor,
rope has similar regulations. As of June 2011, the EU only permits mo- PM motors use high-performance ro-
tors with efficiency class IE2 (International Efficiency), a boost in effi- tor magnets to create a magnetic field
ciency by up to 7% compared to older IEC designs. By 2017, only motors that is always present. This eliminates the
with an IE3 efficiency class will be permitted there. These motors have secondary circuit rotor I 2R (heat) losses
efficiencies up to 10% higher than older IEC designs and already make found in the induction-motor design,
economic sense because of their high energy-saving potential. resulting in higher efficiency and a better
However, at some point the law of diminishing returns kicks in. With power factor to boot.
motors operating in the 90%-plus efficiency range for most ratings, there Rating for rating, PM-rotor technol-
isn’t much more room for improvement. Laws of physics make it prohibi- ogy is simply more efficient than induc-
tive to design ac-induction motors with higher efficiencies. tion technology. So, will PM motors com-
This is where alternative motor designs begin to make sense. As pletely replace induction designs one day
one example, consider permanent-magnet (PM) rotor technology. Un- soon? Most industry experts think not.
74 MACHINE DESIGN.com APRIL 11, 2013
MOTORS TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

rotors, solid rotors, and hybrids are all either

Induction motor cross section Cross section in production or being proposed. The “best”
of an induction design will be the one most closely matched to
Stator laminations application requirements for efficiency, torque,
Rotor motor showing
stator laminations speed, and cost.
Magnets (windings not It is interesting to explore a few of the more
shown for clarity) widely discussed designs making their way into
and squirrel- use today. One such design uses switched reluc-
cage rotor with tance. Switched-reluctance designs use pulses
magnets. of current to cause torque and ro-
tation. Their stator contains wind-
ings, but the rotor has no magnets or
IPM cross section Stator
laminations
windings. It is made of soft magnetic
Cross section of material (laminated-steel protuber-
a permanent- ances). When the stator powers up,
magnet motor with magnetic poles are induced in the
interior magnets. rotor teeth. The rotor’s magnetic re-
Stator laminations luctance creates a force that attempts
are shown without to align the rotor with the powered
windings for
windings. To maintain rotation, ad-
clarity.
Magnets jacent windings get powered up in
sequence.
Switched-reluctance motors have
fewer rotor poles than stator poles
so the poles can’t all align simulta-
The deciding factor is cost and payback. In the indus- neously, a position which cannot generate torque. In
trial arena, payback comes down to energy savings. The contrast, a related technology called a synchronous-
latest PM-rotor technology uses neodymium-based rare- reluctance motor has an equal number of stator and rotor
earth magnets, which offer both a high-energy product poles. The rotor teeth are arranged to introduce inter-
and high-temperature operating qualities. However, it is nal flux “barriers,” holes which direct the magnetic flux
no secret that China now controls much of neodymium’s along the so-called direct axis. In either case, the rotor
global supply and has been escalating magnet prices and operates at synchronous speed and there are no current-
restricting sales. The higher price is making it worth- conducting parts in the rotor, so rotor losses are minimal
while for more countries — including the U. S., Australia, compared to those of an induction motor.
South Africa, and Canada — to open mines and process- It can be tricky to get an apples-to apples comparison
ing plants, which will eventually result in more competi- of efficiency for different motor designs. Efficiency de-
tion for magnets. pends to some degree on qualities of the drive-current
waveform. It would be ideal to do so based on pure si-
Beyond induction designs nusoidal waveforms. Unfortunately, this isn’t possible
The demand for more-efficient motors will continue because some designs always are driven from inverters
as the demand for electricity rises worldwide. What the whose outputs are generally characterized by a lot of
ultraefficient motor of the future will look like is any- high-frequency harmonics. With the switched-reluc-
body’s guess. tance design, for example, the waveforms applied to the
“A motor that is three to four efficiency bands higher rotor are nowhere near sinusoidal.
than today’s Premium Efficient (induction) motors will Nevertheless, it is standard practice for efficiency
likely be a hybrid design,” says Richard Schaefer, senior comparisons to assume ideal current and voltage wave-
variable-speed product marketing manager, Baldor Elec- forms for each technology. For example, in line-fed cases,
tric Co., Fort Smith, Ark. “It will incorporate both an this means perfect sinusoids. In converter-fed instances,
induction cage for starting and permanent magnets for most analysis assumes waveforms that produce the low-
high-efficiency operation and running at true synchro- est motor losses.
nous speed. This future hybrid may be a squirrel-cage in- Induction motors develop torque because of a slip
duction or synchronous reluctance design enhanced with between the speed of the rotor and the speed of the mag-
permanent-magnet technology. This motor design could netic flux rotating around the stator winding. (For this
ultimately replace today’s induction motors.” reason they are considered an asynchronous-motor tech-
Other motor configurations are also being developed, nology.) Thus, there is always an energy loss associated
each with their own special advantages, disadvantages, with slip that reduces induction-motor efficiency. In con-
and application sweet spots. Motors with segmented sta- trast to asynchronous motors, synchronous motors have
tors, concentrated windings, copper rotors, salient pole no such slip loss but still can have a rotor loss, though it is
76 MACHINE DESIGN.com APRIL 11, 2013
MOTORS TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

free synchronous reluctance, and switched-

SR motor cross section reluctance motors are always run with an in-
Cross section of a verter and, therefore, can be considered part
permanent-magnet
motor with surface
of a variable-speed system.
magnets on the
rotor. Stator Where they’re used
teeth are shown Induction motors are widely available
without from many manufacturers and are, therefore,
windings for relatively inexpensive. These industrial work-
Magnets clarity. horses are often considered general-purpose
motors, running everything from fans and
pumps to compressors and conveyors. Sa-
lient-pole PM motors come in
a limited range of ratings (up
usually small. This type of loss SR motor cross to 1,200 hp) from fewer man-
Cross
typically arises from eddy cur- section section of a
ufacturers. These motors have
rents in magnets and lamina- synchronous-
served in a wide range of ap-
tions. Switched-reluctance and reluctance plications that demand high
synchronous-reluctance mo- motor, shown power density, high efficiency,
tors are both synchronous de- here with a and operation across a wide
signs. Two other motor designs conductive range of speeds and loads.
known for high-energy effi- starting cage. Both salient-pole and non-
ciency are synchronous designs salient PM motors are relatively
as well. They are the salient pole Conductive more expensive than the other
PM motors and nonsalient PM starting- cage technologies because they in-
motors. material corporate rare-earth magnets.
In the switched-reluctance Nonsalient PM motors are
design, however, the magnetic field in the rotor is time available over a limited range of ratings from just a few
varying. This time-varying field typically causes rotor manufacturers and typically find use as torque-rated
hysteresis and eddy-current losses. Depending on the servomotors.
particular design and operating conditions, these ro- Synchronous-reluctance motors are available from
tor-core losses can be fairly large and at a rather high only a few manufacturers over a limited range of ratings
frequency. — from 2 to 450 hp. Although these motors were once
Salient-pole PM motors carry magnets buried in the relegated to low-power applications such as web process-
rotor iron or placed in slots on the rotor surface. The ing, they are beginning to emerge in general-purpose
space above the magnets may hold a cage to permit start- variable-speed applications such as fans and pumps. Re-
ing. Nonsalient PM motors typically have the magnets on call that in this design, the rotor is free of both magnets
the rotor surface. Nonsalience means the inductance of and conductors. And its stator shares the lamination and
the motor measured at the terminals is constant, regard- winding configuration of widely available induction mo-
less of rotor position. tors, making it a relatively affordable technology.
From most efficient to least, here’s how the five motor Switched-reluctance designs are available from just
technologies stack up: salient-pole PM, nonsalient PM, a handful of manufacturers and mostly as OEM-spe-
synchronous-reluctance, switched-reluctance and, last cific designs rather than general-purpose motors. The
but not least, induction motors. Regarding power and simple structure of both the rotor and stator help keep
torque density, as may be expected, the rankings mirror costs down. These motors have been applied in a range
those for efficiency, with the PM designs having the high- of niche applications where high speed is a factor, such as
est torque density and induction designs the least. This motion control in printers, traction applications in min-
makes sense because the need to dissipate losses and keep ing, and air compressors.
within a certain temperature limit is common to all the
motor technologies. Pros and cons
Several motor technologies today can operate across There is no such thing as a universally perfect motor,
a range of speeds when used with adjustable-frequency only a motor that is the right fit for the intended applica-
supplies. Operation at fixed speed without an adjustable- tion. Each technology has different strengths and weak-
frequency supply requires a starting cage. This type of nesses. Induction motors are inexpensive, widely avail-
cage is inherent to the induction-motor design, and in able, and do not incorporate expensive permanent mag-
some cases can be integrated into both synchronous- nets; their inherent weakness is their rotor-slip losses.
reluctance and salient-pole PM motors. It’s important to Nonsalient PM designs offer high efficiency, high torque
note that nonsalient PM, cage-free salient-pole PM, cage- density, and high speed, but only limited operation above
78 MACHINE DESIGN.com APRIL 11, 2013
MOTORS TECHNOLOGY GUIDE

their base speed. They PM motor cross section

Even stronger – Even faster – Even smarter also require perma-
nent excitation and Stator

The iiird
windings
use expensive mag-
ne t s . S a l i e nt - p ol e
PM motors also offer
high efficiency and
high torque density,

generation
but feature perma-
nent excitation and
expensive magnets Rotor
like their nonsalient teeth
counterparts.
Cross section of a switched-

has arrived!
Synchronous-re- reluctance motor showing
luctance designs work laminations and concentrated
at high efficiency and stator windings (red and yellow)
high torque density and salient-pole rotor teeth.
without the need for

generation
permanent excitation
or permanent magnets. However, they only offer a low
power factor and limited high-speeds. Finally, switched-
reluctance designs offer high-speeds and high-torque
density, along with no need for permanent excitation or

The iiird
permanent magnets. Their drawbacks include acoustic
noise, torque ripple, rotor-core loss, high fundamental
frequency, and the need for a six-lead connection. MD

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